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Social Work Futures: Beyond Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) has garnered attention over the past several years within the social work field as a way of connecting students with experiences that they may not be able to have in the classroom; and to orient them with the communities that they are likely to serve both in field placement and eventual practice (Huttar & BrintzenhofeSzoc, 2020; Lanzieri et al., 2021; Trahan et al., 2019).

Virtual reality on the surface is an appealing choice of technology to prepare students in a culturally humble way to  work with clients or patients on any number of issues, making use of simulations that can provide immediate feedback to learners within the safety of their home or classroom.

While virtual reality might be appealing, especially as a new piece of technology, it is not without its limitations. Virtual reality carries with it a cost – not only for the consumer to invest in the headset and associated software – but for those seeking to develop interventions as well, and the agencies who would like to utilize, adopt, and implement existing intervention or training software to meet their populations’ unique needs.

There also exists little data as to how effective virtual reality is when compared to traditional classroom instruction (Huttar & BrintzenhofeSzoc, 2020). In a systemic review, Huttar & BrintzenhofeSzoc (2020) were only able to find onestudy examining the comparison between virtual reality and in-classroom instruction. There is also a dearth of evidence to how virtual reality compares in the short, medium, and long term, to interventions provided as they currently are.

Beyond cost, are other concerns surrounding accessibility. These include overall accessibility under both Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as accessibility for those who are unable to bear the weight of a VR headset due to the natural aging process, or skeletal, or neuromuscular disabilities (Schwartz, 2020). Additionally, finding ways to include those who are blind, or those with neurological diversity concerns that prohibit their use of virtual reality as it is presently implemented remains an open question that has not been addressed (Schwartz, 2020).

While we are years away from the concept of a holodeck, (Star Trek’s ‘magical’ experience room where one’s wildest fantasies can become a reality) progress is being made toward more inclusive VR experiences. There is hope on the horizon. Whether or not it is in the distance remains an open question.

Until these barriers of cost and accessibility are mitigated and resolved not to the satisfaction of the technocrats but rather to the most excluded user, it remains a choice at odds with Social Work’s stated values as espoused in the NASW Code of Ethics. However, we do not have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There is a middle, accessible ground, and one likely far more beneficial, far more convenient, and with far more longevity than VR headsets: Augmented Reality (AR). 

Augmented reality is, perhaps, a hidden gem overlooked in social work and the helping professions. While many may think of Pokemon Go, or using Amazon.com’s “see it in your room” feature when they hear the term, AR technology is waiting to be unlocked by social workers engaged in technology development. It is waiting to be harnessed as a more meaningful, more accessible (and likely more realistic way) to engage social workers and social work students with their patients and their communities.

Katz et al (2012) were utilizing augmented reality as early as 2012, along with GPS positioning, in order to create applications that assist those who are blind with navigating based upon geolocation and visual landmarks. There are cellphones for the blind, and a variety of options and adaptations across both iPhone and Android devices that reduce barriers for those who are disabled or neurodiverse, which also reduces the cost burden currently associated with VR as it currently stands.

As Katz et al (2012) assisted the blind community to navigate their world, this technology can be utilized to assist students in navigating their communities and populations in safe, meaningful ways where learning and engagement can occur. Not only this, but it can allow students to exist within virtual space and real space at the same time, allowing them to remain oriented to the real world and the lessons they are working to learn in order to make a difference in it.

Social work education has seen the value of providing training to students to brief them on the communities, populations, and agencies that they will be attending to beyond the typical interventions courses. In Israel, Even-Zohar (2020) studied students at the baccalaureate level of social work education.  The students were trained on a specific intervention, and sent out into the community to provide the intervention; largely they reported feelings of self-efficacy, and success having seen their work in practice (Even-Zohar, 2020).

Imagine, now, if these students were provided an augmented reality platform similar to that created by Katz et al. (2012). Students could – without VR headsets – take their cellphones into the community, and through the use of augmented reality point their phone – whether they can see or not, regardless of ability or disability – at the bank and see, or hear, or feel an overlay not of floating heads and disembodied cartoon avatars so often associated with VR, but of actual people interacting in a simulated situation, right in front of their eyes, interacting and playing out before them, while they could be fully present in the moment: taking in the sounds, smells, sights, tactile sensations, and more (whatever senses their body affords them). Imagine being able to enter a hospital and be guided around with an augmented reality tour guide, who shows you around, and then lets you have a session, in an actual hospital room (empty) though filled with augmented reality characters portrayed by real actors who can respond and interact with the students based on artificial intelligence.

Augmented reality has much to offer social work, in combining our digital worlds with our physical ones, in connecting students to scenarios where they actually occur, and by widening the tent of social work education to those who have been largely excluded due to their disabilities, and schools of social works’ inability to be inclusive by design, far beyond ‘accommodations.’

Rather than invest in a technology that is unproven, non-inclusive, expensive, and difficult, we should instead turn our attention to what, on the surface, may seem lest robust, but in fact can increase and open our worlds, in a manner far more consistent with our values, than virtual reality can ever hope to achieve.

References

Even-Zohar, A. (2020). Social work students acquiring tools to help families manage their household finances. Journal of Financial Therapy, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.4148/1944-9771.1199

Huttar, C. M., & BrintzenhofeSzoc, K. (2020). Virtual reality and computer simulation in social work education: A systematic review. Journal of Social Work Education, 56(1), 131–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2019.1648221

Katz, B. F. G., Dramas, F., Parseihian, G., Gutierrez, O., Kammoun, S., Brilhault, A., Brunet, L., Gallay, M., Oriola, B., Auvray, M., Truillet, P., Denis, M., Thorpe, S., & Jouffrais, C. (2012). NAVIG: Guidance system for the visually impaired using virtual augmented reality. Technology & Disability, 24(2), 163–178.

Lanzieri, N., McAlpin, E., Shilane, D., & Samelson, H. (2021). Virtual reality: An immersive tool for social work students to interact with community environments. Clinical Social Work Journal, 49(2), 207–219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-021-00803-1

Schwartz, M.L. (2020). Inclusion and equity through universal design vs. ableism and inequality through accommodations. SocialWorkDesk. https://www.socialworkdesk.net/blog/2020/10/20/inclusion-and-equity-through-universal-design-vs-ableism-and-inequality-through-accommodations/

Trahan, M. H., Smith, K. S., Traylor, A. C., Washburn, M., Moore, N., & Mancillas, A. (2019). Three-dimensional virtual reality: Applications to the 12 grand challenges of social work. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 37(1), 13–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2019.1599765

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S3E3: Bridging the Divide: Practitioners as Researchers and Researchers as Practitioners

Slides from the Workshop can be found here.

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back to Dispatches from the Social Work Desk! This podcast episode diverges from previous episodes, in that it is a direct recording of the talk I gave this past Friday.

This past Friday I was the invited speaker at the Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association’s 2021 Research Day (part of their annual conference).

It was my honor and privilege to present on how dissemination of research, implementation science and SFBT intersect. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The presentation and the Q&A/discussion after were recorded with permission from all those who participated, and are shared as well. Since there was a great deal of chat in the Zoom chat box I have included it on the webpage for this episode (just click on the link in the information/about and you’ll be taken right to it).

Talk Transcript

Processing Through Otter.ai

Chatbox Content:

15:05:48 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

TO hear about your work

15:05:57 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

Seeing ways how I can benefit as practitioner of SFBT research.

15:05:58 From  Sara Jordan  to  Everyone:

I echo michelle

15:06:05 From  Julio j. Martinez  to  Everyone:

learn about numbers and social work

15:06:05 From  Shaema Imam(inAtlanta)(she/her)  to  Everyone:

how can I be attached to research and continuous learning even after I finish this MSW

15:06:07 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

Curious how you bring research and practice together

15:06:10 From  Cynthia Franklin  to  Everyone:

New ideas for practice and research partnerships

15:06:14 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

How we can do SFBT Research as practioners.

15:06:15 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

how to innovate vs evidence base

15:06:18 From  Adam Busch he/him  to  Everyone:

echo Dominik

15:06:20 From  Abi Flanagan (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Sharing research to clinicians

15:06:23 From  cboyer  to  Everyone:

I don’t often think of myself as a research- but am super intrigued by the idea!

15:06:25 From  Mo Yee Lee  to  Everyone:

Some practical and innovative ideas on the integration

15:06:27 From  Karla González  to  Everyone:

to learn more about how you are bridging the gap!!

15:06:35 From  Ray Eads  to  Everyone:

How to close research-practice gap

15:06:36 From  Centrum Terapii CTK  to  Everyone:

how to research on my practice

15:06:36 From  Julie Dubuc  to  Everyone:

Happy to discover you!

15:06:37 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

Supporting you in your work!

15:06:37 From  Andreea Żak  to  Everyone:

how to bring research into practice

15:06:38 From  MOnica Rotner  to  Everyone:

Just want to hear what you have to say!!

15:06:45 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

See more practitioner at this meeting

15:06:50 From  Santou Carter  to  Everyone:

how to research your private practice

15:07:39 From  Ray Eads  to  Everyone:

Amount of time for research to go into practice

15:07:40 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

how far behind practitioners are from research

15:07:40 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

Your age?

15:08:09 From  Abi Flanagan (she/her)  to  Everyone:

That’s incredible

15:08:22 From  Karla González  to  Everyone:

OMG!!

15:08:31 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

Applies to medical research too, which is scary when you go to your GP

15:08:41 From  Karla González  to  Everyone:

scary

15:16:49 From  Aurie Contosta  to  Everyone:

4

15:16:50 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

3

15:16:51 From  Andreea Żak  to  Everyone:

7

15:16:51 From  Abi Flanagan (she/her)  to  Everyone:

5

15:16:52 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

10

15:16:52 From  Adam Busch he/him  to  Everyone:

3

15:16:54 From  Christopher Richmond  to  Everyone:

8

15:16:54 From  Cynthia Franklin  to  Everyone:

10

15:16:56 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

9

15:16:56 From  Ray Eads  to  Everyone:

5

15:16:56 From  Steve Langer  to  Everyone:

9

15:16:58 From  Sue Lickorish  to  Everyone:

2

15:17:00 From  Philippe Koffi  to  Everyone:

8

15:17:00 From  Julio j. Martinez  to  Everyone:

10

15:17:02 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

4

15:17:05 From  TVCC – Kim Benincasa (she/her)  to  Everyone:

3

15:17:11 From  MOnica Rotner  to  Everyone:

If macro clients then 10

15:17:11 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

8

15:17:20 From  Mo Yee Lee  to  Everyone:

5

15:17:41 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

I want to want to and have started

15:17:42 From  MOnica Rotner  to  Everyone:

Im super interested in the value of this!

15:17:45 From  Steve Langer  to  Everyone:

Done it before

15:17:55 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

I’m a professional writer

15:17:57 From  Andreea Żak  to  Everyone:

having a good case from start to end, experience in writting, time to do it

15:17:59 From  TVCC – Kim Benincasa (she/her)  to  Everyone:

I see clients, and see how helpful this would be

15:18:02 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Already thinking and writing about clients all the time

15:18:03 From  Adam Busch he/him  to  Everyone:

I’ve read SF case studies in text books and research articles so have a sense of what it looks like. And remember case studies from school

15:18:05 From  Centrum Terapii CTK  to  Everyone:

I simply see clients

15:18:08 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

We support others in writing

15:18:10 From  Cynthia Franklin  to  Everyone:

I have access and work with Practice communities and have done it before. I get paid to do it.

15:18:16 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

We have video recordings of SF conversations.

15:18:24 From  Philippe Koffi  to  Everyone:

I have support for that

15:18:28 From  MOnica Rotner  to  Everyone:

ive done some videotaped  macro sessions

15:18:35 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

2

15:18:35 From  Aurie Contosta  to  Everyone:

I have the base, clients / research, wrote in the past and did it before. What’s scaring me is the once a year/consistent basis. 😛

15:18:37 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

I’m super excited about doing research – looking at SF dialogue

15:18:56 From  Sue Lickorish  to  Everyone:

I’ve done scary things before!!! 🙂

15:19:22 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

lack of experience, totally not good writer, but 2 because I am interested and very very want some topics to gain more lights

15:19:40 From  TVCC – Kim Benincasa (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Have a conversation with our research department to explore the idea!

15:19:45 From  Taylor Yates she/her  to  Everyone:

Make a connection

15:19:48 From  Andreea Żak  to  Everyone:

make a commitment

15:19:48 From  Adam Busch he/him  to  Everyone:

listening to this presentation I hope will bump me up 1 🙂

15:19:50 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

Start measuring things today

15:19:53 From  Steve Langer  to  Everyone:

Start writing up something I have presented

15:19:53 From  Sue Lickorish  to  Everyone:

find out what makes a good write up

15:19:56 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

bringing people together that are interested

15:19:57 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

move up on scale, email Dr. Jordan

15:19:57 From  Ray Eads  to  Everyone:

Identify partners in the community

15:19:58 From  Abi Flanagan (she/her)  to  Everyone:

To see examples

15:20:07 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

Start

15:20:08 From  Sara Jordan  to  Everyone:

Yes, JSFP is a wonderful place to submit your work to make a difference

15:20:12 From  Centrum Terapii CTK  to  Everyone:

why 10% only?! I will make a note about something I wish to write about

15:20:16 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

Start and connect

15:20:53 From  Christopher Richmond  to  Everyone:

Finding connections here with people sharing similar research interests!

15:21:41 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

People will start seeing themselves as explorers of their own work…

15:21:49 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

even more…

15:21:56 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

and they would share that

15:22:05 From  Centrum Terapii CTK  to  Everyone:

I will write few lines a day at least

15:22:10 From  Julio j. Martinez  to  Everyone:

skipped my coffee

15:22:24 From  Brigitte Lavoie  to  Everyone:

Sending a text to Sara so she could see if that can go in the Journal

15:22:28 From  Cynthia Franklin  to  Everyone:

I would work in a world where the research university would be restructured to support practitioner research

15:22:36 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Excited by range of ideas and practices from colleagues

15:22:37 From  Philippe Koffi  to  Everyone:

I would talk about that idea with mu colleagues

15:22:38 From  Sara Jordan  to  Everyone:

I will see TONS of JSFP submissions

15:22:40 From  Sue Lickorish  to  Everyone:

I would have an idea of what would be valuable to share

15:22:53 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

I would have more conversations about that and be able to encourage others to write more and share their work in a structured way

15:22:55 From  Brigitte Lavoie  to  Everyone:

Let people know what we already know

15:23:23 From  Mo Yee Lee  to  Everyone:

We are all talking enthusiastically about innovative ideas on practice and research.

15:23:49 From  Sue Lickorish  to  Everyone:

I have no quantitative data. it would be all qualititative.

15:23:59 From  Aurie Contosta  to  Everyone:

The research award committee will have a tough job each year!

15:24:05 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

I will be asking my team about when they would like to write.  Ask them what will it take to start ?  That will encourage me to get started and take the lead

15:24:14 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

I’d check with the Journal to see if they take little bits of, say, little idea articles.

15:24:47 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

unicorns are scary

15:24:58 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

horns

15:25:27 From  Taylor Yates she/her  to  Everyone:

Keep a journal

15:25:27 From  Centrum Terapii CTK  to  Everyone:

as said – few lines a day

15:25:41 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

email Sara

15:25:44 From  Adam Busch he/him  to  Everyone:

brig this to clinical supervision as a goal to start

15:25:47 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

OOOOh  stealing Taylor’s idea

15:25:48 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

Sit together with Elfie next week

15:25:52 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

getting material out that we started to work on already

15:25:54 From  Christopher Richmond  to  Everyone:

Reading more SF journal articles and writing out study ideas

15:26:18 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Get out my notes on unfinished articles

15:26:30 From  Andreea Żak  to  Everyone:

organize time to write more

15:26:37 From  Cynthia Franklin  to  Everyone:

Keep writing…

15:26:43 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

Love that scaling!

15:26:52 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

Love that “Writing time” idea.

15:26:56 From  Brigitte Lavoie  to  Everyone:

Get an unicorn

15:27:07 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

Ask people here to tap me on the shoulder about what my next step will be

15:27:09 From  Taylor Yates she/her  to  Everyone:

Be brave

15:27:14 From  Sue Lickorish  to  Everyone:

to set an intention to get brave about this 😀

15:27:17 From  Philippe Koffi  to  Everyone:

find exemples of research forms

15:27:27 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

in Austria/Switzerland we conduct Research.Meetings where we discuss SF research – in these meetings spreading the idea of the importance of writing

15:27:31 From  Aurie Contosta  to  Everyone:

Partnering with other practitioners

15:27:54 From  Karla González  to  Everyone:

scheduling time to write

15:28:22 From  Taylor Yates she/her  to  Everyone:

SF writing retreat

15:28:30 From  Centrum Terapii CTK  to  Everyone:

find notes about the article I wished to send to Journal time ago

15:28:48 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

SF writing retreat – you can do that online 🙂

15:29:06 From  Christopher Richmond  to  Everyone:

Truth

15:29:13 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

Suggest to the SFBTA board that we start an SF practitioner/researcher BLOG on the website

15:29:21 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

love it

15:30:06 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

Matt, I really LOVE your presentation! Thank you!

15:30:29 From  Sara Jordan  to  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)(Direct Message):

SUCH a wonderful presentation!!! VERY needed for research day

15:30:43 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

Awesome presentation Matt

15:30:43 From  Katalin Hankovszky  to  Everyone:

Haha, 2016 we made an SF Research Camp… maybe this would be a good idea to re-try

15:30:44 From  Karla González  to  Everyone:

Matt, you are a rock star!

15:30:53 From  Sue Lickorish  to  Everyone:

very thought-provoking and encouraging, thanks Matt

15:31:16 From  Centrum Terapii CTK  to  Everyone:

Where did you get such a brilliant idea for such an inspiring presentation?

15:31:35 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

Here is the Virtual Background for Matt’s presentation 🙂

15:32:08 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Wonderful presentation, Mattl

15:32:24 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Look forward to the article

15:32:28 From  Aurie Contosta  to  Everyone:

I love it Dominik!!!

15:32:52 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

LOL Dominik!

15:33:09 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

Another reason practice lags research by 17 years, in the medical field, is that most practitioners base most of their work on what they learned in school, and the schools themselves often run on tradition vs research and/or evidence

15:33:21 From  Sue Lickorish  to  Everyone:

has anyone done research with ADHD brains…. dare I even ask about this here?

15:34:14 From  Karla González  to  Everyone:

Sue we are going to have some time to network in a few minutes!!

15:34:16 From  Sue Lickorish  to  Everyone:

if I could whip my ADHD brain into shape, I’d find my microscope……..

15:36:32 From  Cynthia Franklin  to  Everyone:

Reading about an evidence based practice does not mean someone can do it.  Need different and affordable ways to disseminate through training, supervision, and consultation approaches to speed it up.

15:37:33 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Part of that blog that Jay recommended could be informing about new findings

15:38:33 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

Where do we (SF folks) offer the sort of research findings that you can find on, say, the British Psychological Society Digest? A task for the Journal? Or SFBTA website? I’d love to get involved in that!

15:39:56 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

I would love to see you involved in that, Jay!

15:40:25 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Go Jay!

15:40:55 From  Brigitte Lavoie  to  Everyone:

We need for the information to be palatable

15:41:09 From  Christopher Richmond  to  Everyone:

Providing more support (financial and otherwise) to Ph.D. and MA students conducting SF research

15:41:33 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

workshops? seminar based on the research paper, like book club?

15:41:39 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

Centralize the research and summarize it regularly where everyone knows where to look – worldwide

15:41:49 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

Regular research meetings

15:42:11 From  Andreea Żak  to  Everyone:

Research articles should be made available to trainers in a free or low-cost way. This way the research is send directly up-to-date during the training of new practitioners

15:42:11 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

Online and presence format that invite a regular exchange

15:42:29 From  Cynthia Franklin  to  Everyone:

What we are doing is open access and summarizing studies is a small step we are already doing it. Open access. Blast it into social media.  Practice updates like is being discussed. Make it visual and quick access.

15:42:46 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

Keep talking, doing more of what’s working,  supervising.

15:42:58 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

A lot of researchers offer their own papers on ResearchGate, even when the journals are not open.

15:42:59 From  Taylor Yates she/her  to  Everyone:

Brigitte is so lovely

15:43:11 From  MaríaAmelia Barrera  to  Everyone:

I agree regular research meetings

15:43:15 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

Plus also keep doing the excellent work the research committee is doing in continuing the work that Alisdair McDonalds started with the research list

15:43:43 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Lovely idea! Thanks Brigitte

15:43:43 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

https://www.sfbta.org/current-research

15:44:00 From  Pamela King  to  Everyone:

As a 25 year practitioner I don’t feel competent to do research. I would love to partner with a researcher

15:44:01 From  Jay E. Valusek  to  Everyone:

Matt: wonderful stuff!

15:44:14 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

Loved this – thanks Matt.  Thanks everyone

15:44:14 From  Brigitte Lavoie  to  Everyone:

Really good food for thoughts

15:44:14 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

Thank you!!

15:44:16 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

Thank you for presenting Matt!

15:44:17 From  TVCC – Kim Benincasa (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Thank you so much for this presentation.  You have me thinking….

15:44:17 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

Thank you Matt!

15:44:19 From  Centrum Terapii CTK  to  Everyone:

Matthew, I have a comment rather than a question. I want to thank you for what you said about the value of writing about individual cases sudiers and not just statistical studies.in my mind i have two barriers: i am not a researcher nor am i anglophone. what you said makes a difference.

15:44:20 From  Sara Jordan  to  Everyone:

Thank you SO much!!!

15:44:30 From  Cynthia Franklin  to  Everyone:

Thanks Matthew!

15:44:36 From  MaríaAmelia Barrera  to  Everyone:

Thank you!!!

15:44:38 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

So excellent Matt

15:45:08 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

Where can I get that unicorn backround??

15:46:04 From  Andreea Żak  to  Everyone:

Here is SF research list made by the EBTA as a continuation of Alasdair MacDonald:http://u0154874.cp.regruhosting.ru/evaluationlist/

15:46:28 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

Wonderful! Thank you for sharing that, Andreea!

15:46:56 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

I learn more about different application of SF. get some connection.  Seeing some friends.

15:47:44 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

PAAAAM!!!! 🙂

15:48:17 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

This has filled my heart and head

15:48:18 From  Andreea Żak  to  Everyone:

You can access the SF Research list directly from the EBTA site here, at the end of the page: https://www.ebta.eu/taskgroups/

15:48:19 From  Shaema Imam  to  Everyone:

As a master’s student I am star-struck to see so many writers of the journal articles I read all in one spot :-)! You all seem really kind and welcoming! It is inspiring!

15:49:31 From  Andreea Żak  to  Everyone:

https://www.ebta.eu/taskgroups/ – on the sf research taskgroup

15:49:32 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

Those ORS/SRS scales are great

15:50:12 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

N=1 IS ALSO OKAY

15:50:17 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

N=YOU is Also okay!

15:50:46 From  Pamela King  to  Everyone:

That is inspiring Jay, Thanks!

15:50:57 From  Michele Orr she/her – Australia  to  Everyone:

Yeah Jay !

15:51:20 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

There are so many levels of research, RCT is great, but there’s so much more 🙂 Awesome work Jay!

15:51:34 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

Yes, so inspiring what you say!

15:52:33 From  Sue Lickorish  to  Everyone:

is there some basic format that we amateurs could use as a template, even for our N=1 work?

15:53:18 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

I love that question, Sue!

15:53:29 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

Excellent question – and I bet the journal could make one

15:53:31 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

😀

15:54:37 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

Here you’ll find their email addresses: https://www.sfbta.org/research-committee

15:55:27 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

It is a mystery and rocket science to me…. so the template and guide will be helpful to feel less overwhelmed.

15:55:40 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

Keiko we can work together!

15:55:42 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

🙂

15:55:50 From  Taylor Yates she/her  to  Everyone:

A case study template or a practice note template is a great idea!

15:55:52 From  Heather Fiske (she/her)  to  Everyone:

Could be a regular lunch meeting at the conference—Come along and talk to some researchers

15:56:01 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

YESSSS

15:56:20 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

ignorance and “dumb questions” is the start of all research

15:56:21 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

Love Heather’s idea!!!

15:56:26 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

I like this idea Heather… and wonder if this could be also a thing for like an online lunch meeting or so

15:56:30 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

SFBTA Research Committee: https://www.sfbta.org/research-committee

15:56:34 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

Yes Elfie!

15:56:36 From  Keiko Yoneyama-Sims  to  Everyone:

Matt we need to connect

15:56:48 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

I would love a quarterly (or monthly) brief meetup

15:56:51 From  Matthew L. Schwartz (Buffalo, NY; He/Him/His)  to  Everyone:

Keiko YES 🙂

15:56:52 From  Pamela King  to  Everyone:

Heather, great idea, could even be a breakout tomorrow.

15:58:10 From  Mo Yee Lee  to  Everyone:

Heather, I really like your idea, plus we can have lunch together:)

15:58:12 From  Julie Dubuc  to  Everyone:

I’m far from being a searcher. This afternoon made me appreciate in a very high way the importance of the researches in the SFBT ecosystem. Thank your very much.

15:58:12 From  Dominik Godat  to  Everyone:

Yes, that would be a wonderful open space session tomorrow

15:58:47 From  Taylor Yates she/her  to  Everyone:

What if we had a special journal issue dedicated to practitioner research/articles?

15:59:21 From  Pamela King  to  Everyone:

Taylor, love that idea.

15:59:23 From  Sara Jordan  to  Everyone:

Yes, we can have a planned special section of an issue dedicated to this

15:59:32 From  Elfie Czerny  to  Everyone:

Awesome!

15:59:35 From  Pamela King  to  Everyone:

Yes Sara

15:59:36 From  Sara Jordan  to  Everyone:

Taylor, email me if you would like to head that up

15:59:56 From  Taylor Yates she/her  to  Everyone:

Oh I have given. Myself work! Sure!

Journey Podcast
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S3E2: Join me at the SFBTA Conference

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Hi Everyone,

Welcome back to Dispatches from the Social Work Desk! 

I am getting super excited for the Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association’s annual conference coming up next month.

While my practice is now almost entirely Financial Social Work, what’s nice about Solution Focused Brief Therapy is that it can be applied to therapy, coaching, nutrition, nursing, medicine, banking, accounting, rugby (yes, really, I’m working with a referee in New Zealand right now on laying that groundwork), and – yes of course, Financial Social Work.

The heart of Solution Focused Brief Therapy, or coaching, as devised by Insoo Kim Berg and Steve DeSchazer is: where are you right now? Where do you want to be? What do you need to get there? What are the barriers? What have you done in similar situations in the past? If you haven’t had similar situations, what might work? When is the problem LESS of a problem (even if you’ve had 365 bad days, they’ve been 365 different days, and they aren’t all going to be equally bad). What made those days that were less bad, less bad? Do more of what’s working, stop doing what isn’t working.

In the application of Solution Focused practice to Financial Social Work, I’m happy that they – essentially – go hand in hand. While there are disagreements about what role the transtheoretical model of behavioral change plays in SF practice, it’s one of the driving forces behind Financial Social Work, and also Motivational Interviewing.

Solution Focused practice (for me) has always been the other side of the Motivation Interviewing, or MI coin: great, now that you’re motivated, what are we going to do about it? How do we take this opportunity to have that motivation also be therapeutic.

I’m excited, as always, to learn from my colleagues. See old friends (and make new ones) and of course learn and see the best in new research.

I’m particularly excited to announce that I’ll be giving a talk on the conference’s research day (Friday, November 12), to discuss how to involve the practitioner community of SFBT with the research world (and vice versa) and how to implement research within one’s own practice…doubly so, because this is essentially the heart of my doctoral work right now, and the main crux of the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program at the University at Buffalo. So yes, please, I will happily accept a microphone and share my doctoral passion with anyone who wants to listen (I promise, it will be brief, and interesting).

As Insoo Kim Berg used to say: the difference between a Solution Focused Brief Therapist and a Solution Focused Brief Coach is that the coaches make more money (painfully true) – so whether you’re a therapist, a coach, a nutritionist, a financial social worker, or just someone who wants to find a way to integrate the Solution Focused philosophy into your work (architecture? design? cooking?) I encourage you to join us.

Please head over to the conference website www.SFBTAConference.org, and register today. Admission is donation/by suggestion/sliding scale, and the conference is going to be virtual this year (again) instead of Las Vegas because of this whole pandemic that we’re all still living in.

Now, it’s time to clean up my home office (in a solution focused way – yes you can be a solution focused cleaner!) so I can start my work week nice and fresh.

Today’s background music is by 42 Meisterwerke (ID 1619) by Lobo Loco courtesy of the Free Music Archive through a Creative Commons License. Check them out at FreeMusicArchive.org

Thank you for listening. Please tune in again next week for more. You can find me on social media as @SocialWorkDesk on all the platforms that you’d think to look at. I’ll see you next week with more; until then, make good choices. 

Journey Podcast
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S3E1: Welcome to Season 3

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Hi Everyone,

Welcome back to Dispatches from the Social Work Desk! Updated equipment, a (new and improved) home office setup…and about 100 different kinds of personal fires put out (you know, family members who needed brain surgery, loss of a beloved family pet, and all the other things that can throw us off track during these increasingly chaotic times).

Today we begin Season 3 of Dispatches From the Social Work Desk. Seasons are (now, at least) based on when the University at Buffalo begins its Fall Term. I find that, since 2002, I have been connected to UB’s calendar in some way or other, and what better marker on our journey of time than when the fall semester begins, Pumpkin Spice Latte’s are ready, and the leaves are changing colors to mark our seasons.

I figured today I would give you all a brief overview of where I’m at, with regard to my work and my research, and let you in on a bit of “what is implementation science.”

I continue to have my practice at the Community Behavioral Healthcare Center, though over the past year (one year this November) I have transitioned my case load largely from Mental Health and Substance Use, to a specialty practice: Financial Social Work. I see clients from both the Mental Health and SUD side of the agency, and I provide them with financial behavioral healthcare.

This means, I work with our clients to change how they relate (emotionally, and behaviorally) to finances: debt, spending, credit, saving, earning, and more. I work with all of our clients to change behaviors in order to reduce unnecessary/impulsive spending behaviors, and assist them in finding ways of reducing expenses while still living a more than austere life after we’ve stabilized their finances. I then work to empower clients to increase their income and savings (yes, even clients on SSI, and SSDI, and other government programs with means testing/restrictions). After our clients have stabilized their finances, increased their income, and assets, I then work with them to diversify their assets to empower them to achieve long term financial security (and hopefully to get off, and stay off, the system). It is exciting work. It is meaningful work. It is FUN work…and it combines my past history of work in accounting and finance, and my MBA with my MSW.

I am currently in the process of expanding our Financial Social Work program, with a lot of assistance from the Center for Financial Social Work, and its incredible founder and leader, Reeta Wolfsohn. I’m looking forward to beginning a Financial Social Work Residency program at my agency, to assist other clinicians in specializing in this field. More on that as it develops.

We are also in the middle of our fall term in my doctoral program, so I figured it would be a good time to share what on EARTH a DSW is, and what on EARTH I’m studying/going to do with it.

I’m a Doctor of Social Work student (that’s what the DSW is) at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. In our DSW program (which, online, is advertised as a DSW in Social Welfare…which is equally non-informative) we study implementation science.

Implementation scientists work, on a very meta level, to serve as a bridge between the academic world (think, ivory towers), and the real world…where evidence based practice has to get translated into how agencies and clinicians actually work. Our goal is to take the average of 17 years (which is how long most research takes to filter out into the world) and reduce that number exponentially, to a matter of months. This means closing feedback loops, working with stakeholders and researchers, conducting our OWN research into implementation science and practice, and working to reduce close to two decades of time from publication to practice. 

In the end, the work that we’re doing in what is a relatively new field, will help agencies and individual practitioners implement  best practices in as close to real time as we can get. This means that the days of a researcher having a good idea, testing it on ONE demographic, and it taking 17 years to filter out and see if it can be used within other demographics…are over. It’s 2021. We have to be able to get meaningful research into the hands of those who need it in less time than it takes us to get to Mars right now (which, according to NASA, is 7 months). 

Implementation scientists and students are currently leading the way int his effort, and I’m proud to be in the second doctoral cohort of this program at UB as we define what this field will mean, and look like, within the lens and framework of Social Work values, and ethics.

Now, after what has been a ridiculous week, filled with shenanigans, I am going to finish assignment for class, and practice self-care.

Thank you for listening. Please tune in again nexts week for more. You can find me on social media as @SocialWorkDesk on all the platforms that you’d think to look. I’ll see you next week with more; until then, make good choices. 

Journey
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Sample Blog Post for My UB SW150 Students

Hello SW150 students! This is a sample of a full credit blog post for Blog #1. Please let me know if you have any questions. – Matt

Beacon

Beacon by Frank Moore 2001

The art piece I’ve decided to talk about is one that’s incredibly important to me for a number of reasons, in fact I’ve carried a copy of it with me daily for many years.

The piece is “Beacon” by Frank Moore. The above digital replication does not do it justice. When I was first introduced to it as an undergraduate taking a drawing class, it was when we went on a field trip to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in 2002-2003. We were given the go ahead to walk around on our own and I came upon it – it was a painting the size of a wall, and it made me feel so incredibly small. I had my headphones in (as I almost always do) and I was listening to the song “Rest in Peace” from the Buffy The Musical soundtrack. 

You're scared
Ashamed of what you feel
And you can't tell the ones you love
You know they couldn't deal
Whisper in a dead man's ear
It doesn't make it real
– Spike, Rest in Peace, Buffy The Vampire Slayer the Musical

Go ahead and take a moment to listen to the song while you take in the painting. I broke down in tears in the middle of the Albright-Knox when I saw it, and its meaning and impact hit me. The painting and the music coming together to move me to a display of emotion I rarely show the outside world.

The painting shows a man on a hospital bed, lonely, in a sea of torment, connected to IV tubes, and with a tentacle holding injections. The lighthouse is a beacon of hope for a cure, shooting out a light that shares with it DNA/Genetics (Source: I remember the placard I read at the museum).

Having lost friends to HIV/AIDS (and the resulting complications thereof) this piece of art motivated me to become a sex educator in the LGBTQIA+ community, and to pass out/distribute condoms, and encourage HIV testing. It took the ember of activism in my chest and turned it into a roaring fire, which I carry with me today as a Social Worker.

More broadly, this piece had me consider the larger movements of art within the LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement. As it connected me to other art, I found other activists and artists who thought like me. I also began to more broadly learn the history of the LGBTQIA+ civil rights movements, through art and music. This piece of art connected me to a history that was my own, but hidden from me. I think it made me a better activist. Certainly, carrying a copy for close to twenty years must mean something.

Journey
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The Social Work Future is Agency Based & Collaborative (or the End of Private Practice As We Know It)

In looking at #SocialWorkFutures, of one thing I am sure: the future of our profession is agency based and collaborative. In what I am sure will rankle some private practice feathers, below are my thoughts on this as we move into the unknown return to the new-normal.

First, as the world gets more complicated, we as social workers are going to continue to need to rely on a network and team of people to serve our clients and communities that cannot be replicated in pure private practice (e.g., hanging a shingle outside one’s home office).

From consulting across modality and research specialties, to working with clinical pharmacists, nurse practitioners, nurses, and medical doctors: private practice options for even the most network savvy social worker cannot replicate these experiences or agency based brain trusts.

Ethically there is a case to be made that to forgo this brain trust in search of solitary practice intentionally and negatively impacts our client populations.

There is a business component as well. As a freelancer and consultant for many years in New York, I specialized in rebuilding corporate books for business owners who didn’t keep records (outside of maybe some receipts that looked like they had been lit on fire and run over before being shoved in a box). Few people are actually prepared to run a business, let alone a private practice.

Expertise in one area (social work, counseling, EMDR, etc.) does not translate to expertise in all areas, and less so in the world of business, billing, and taxation. Agencies offer billing specialists, payroll departments, marketing, accounting, IT (in the world of ransomeware more important than ever).

As someone who no longer has to market their services outside of my web presence, I would rather everything go through my agency than have to handle billing or scheduling or multiple learning management systems. I would happily sacrifice a not insignificant percentage of my speaker fees for the kind of support my agency offers in all the areas that I am not an expert in.

I believe we are going to begin to see the hybridization of private practice and agency practice first, more fully than currently exists (because it does exist). Then, I believe there is going to be greater democratization of the existing agency structures for two reasons: first, it follows trauma-informed principles. Secondly, because everything I ever learned in my MBA shows better employee engagement, satisfaction, and bottom lines when this happens. It becomes a win-win for shareholders and stakeholders alike. In the end we are going to see a modern agency based structure that embraces multidirectional collaboration, working for the betterment of all stakeholders.

While I believe this will first happen at the micro level of the social work world, I believe it will also occur at the mezzo and macro levels.

With the push for a single-payer healthcare system in this country (while a bit far away in the present political…climate), I believe that there will be a greater incentive for agency based collaborative practice: once clients no longer have a reason to pay out of pocket when insurance can cover their social work needs across the board, when there is no longer any discernible benefit to engaging a private practice therapist in comparison to the breadth of options and resources only available through those engaged in agency based practice, when cash is taken out of the picture, I believe we will see a very different playing field.

Journey Podcast
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Yes, I’m using my phone during this meeting.

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Transcript:

Yes, I’m using my phone during this meeting.

A question I’ve found myself asked at more than one meeting (work, committee, community, or otherwise) is “are you really on your phone during this meeting? I figured I’d share why “yes, I’m using my phone during this meeting” and “yes, my students are encouraged to use their phones in my class” has became a regular part of my self-advocacy, self-care, social worker vernacular. I may even make little cards with QR codes to hand out that link to this podcast.

This is an important topic. It’s important for disability rights, it’s important for students, it’s important for workers, and it’s important for the future of Social Work tech:

I can touch type on my phone as quickly if not more quickly than a keyboard, and certainly faster than I can write. Beyond speed, the main (and most important) difference is that I can put digital words to digital paper without the joint or muscle pain that accompanies typing or writing due to my rheumatoid arthritis and myositis. Yes I will, largely, be looking up at the speaker as they present or speak (it’s common courtesy, and it’s important to provide non-verbal feedback as a learner), but the speaker or presenter doesn’t need my unbreaking eye contact and undivided attention for me to understand and retain what they’re saying.

No one would ever be admonished for taking a brief moment in time to look down at their handwritten notes, and so I expect (and, since I set healthy boundaries, require) that the same courtesy is extended to me: whether I’m checking I typed a word correctly, or adding an event someone just shared to my calendar and then returning to the notepad app.

No I don’t write down protected health information (I don’t when writing on paper, either). Simply put, I use the most efficient tool for me to memorialize what you are saying, process it, think about it, remember it, and recall it later. That I have my phone out indicates that I care enough about what you have to say, to take notes on it, and to think about it later.

Solution Focused Practice calls on us to recognize that our clients and patients are the experts on themselves and their own lives. As practitioners, managers, leaders, and teachers we owe others (and ourselves) this same freedom and respect.

Journey

Explaining Short Sales, GameStop, and Reddit

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In case anyone wants to understand what’s going on with the stock market and Reddit and GameStop I wrote an explainer. Feel free to use:

So short selling is betting against a company in the hopes of getting a profit when that company fails. I’ll use an example that leaves out some extra details but will give the gist:

Let’s say you wanted to make money on a short sale. You borrow a bicycle (representing stock) from a broker who can loan it to you, instead of you purchasing it.

You have to return the bike.

You take the bike that you borrowed and sell it for as much profit as you possibly can.

You now have sold a borrowed bike.

You owe a bike to your broker.

You go out and hope the bike company has gone to shit and that you can buy a bike at clearance that’s the same bike you just sold for way more, to return it to your broker.

The difference between what you sold the bike for (hopefully high) and what you bought the new bike you’re returning (hopefully low) is your profit.

You only make a profit if the bike company is going to shit. They have to practically be giving bikes away they’re doing so bad. There’s no demand for their terrible bikes. No one wants them.

Now let’s say you sold that bike for what you thought was a really great deal. You take that money and go in search of the bike at lower price ONLY TO FIND a new bike club (coughredditcough) got really interested in that bike and they bought all the bikes up and now that bike is in demand and hard to get. They’re refusing to sell any of their bikes.

You’re about to learn a hard lesson about supply and demand.

You HAVE to return the bike to the broker or pay some MAAAAJJJJJJOOOOOOOR not returning bike fee.

You have to buy the bike (at an inflated cost due to demand) at a loss, or really hope you’ll get some money to cover your ass because each day you can’t buy a bike you’re up shits creek.

You just lost at bike gambling. Also known as the short sale stock market.

Journey
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The Solution Focused Podcast: Updated Guests, Schedule & Sign Up Form :-)

I am so excited to have the next five guests lined up for The Solution Focused Podcast! (iTunes, Spotify)!

I am looking for more guests!

To answer your first question: YES I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU ON THE SHOW! I would love to hear about your work, your research, your SFBT ideas, what brought you into SFBT work, how you’re using it. If you’re involved in SFBT I would like to hear from you and have you on the show 🙂

I have another twenty open slots that I would love to get scheduled and filled (the sooner they’re scheduled, the sooner I can start creating marketing materials, get the behind the scenes stuff setup, etc.). I know that you (yes, you wonderful human being reading this, you) have something to share!

If you’re interested, please check out the open recording dates (three options for each show) and then please fill out the guest information form. You’ll get a confirmation email relatively quickly (a day or so, if not less), and then a calendar invite.

Please also see the FAQ PDF which explains the process and answers most questions 🙂

Warmly & With Gratitude (and excitement)!),

Matt

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